Cynthia D. Burnett, Consulting Associate

Cynthia Burnett has over 15 years of experience working successfully in diverse business cultures concentrated in the industries of public health, social services, and education providing consultation in organization management, strategic planning, and fund development. She specializes in grant writing for federal and foundation programs targeting healthcare, economic development, and social justice.

In 1996 Cynthia, founded California Consulting Associates to help small businesses and public agencies improve their capacity to provide culturally competent health and human services to vulnerable populations. In 2004 the firm was incorporated as Burnett Consulting Associates, LLC (BCA). In addition to her consulting practice, Cynthia serves as the Development Director for Alameda County Health Care Services Agency.

Cynthia has worked with organizations in Sacramento and the Bay Area to raise $217 million in financial support. Her government clients have included: the Alameda County agencies of Probation, Public Health, and Social Services; Santa Clara County Social Services Agency; the California State Department of Health & Human Services; the California Division of Juvenile Justice, formerly the CA Youth Authority; the California Children’s Research Institute; and the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Other clients have included the University of California at San Francisco, Institute for Health Policy Study, the University of California at Davis, Office of Judicial Affairs; the University of California at Davis, Medical Center; Grant Joint Union School District (Sacramento, CA); the Indiana Association for Community Economic Development; the Corporation for Supportive Housing; Sacramento Unified School District; Oakland Unified School District; Hayward Unified School District; the Alameda County Office of Education; Employment, Management, & Training Group Inc.; Healthy Communities Incorporated; Village Connect, Inc.; and Northern California Economic Development Inc.

Cynthia previously served as a Community Economic Development Specialist for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco helping to facilitate partnerships between financial institutions, public agencies and nonprofit organizations to promote community economic development; as executive director of Innovative Housing Inc., managing a $25 million portfolio for 500 affordable housing units in the Bay Area; and as Business Planning and Operations Director for the Santa Clara County Social Services Agency, Information Systems Department, specializing in business process design.

Cynthia earned her B.A. in Sociology from Sacramento State University (1993) and her Masters in Human Resources and Organization Development from the University of San Francisco (2003). She has been a contributing editor on several publications.

BB Insight No. 52:

It is axiomatic that an institution must spend money in order to raise money.